Astro's Mega Journey
by Authority Man 37
Summary: Aftermath-2003 series. Despite that Astro has prevented Drake from altering history by going into the past and erasing Astro's existence, a faulty error in the time machine sends Astro into another dimension and into the year 21XX. He meets Maverick Hunters, X and Zero during the Repliforce incident. This is an alternate story of Mega Man X4 to X8. Chapter 4 is now up. R&R, plz!
1. Astro Meets The Maverick Hunters

**Astro's Mega Journey**

Disclaimer: I don't own Astro Boy (2003) and/or Mega Man X. Only their respective companies do. What if, Astro was whisked away into the twenty-second century by a time portal and into Mega Man X's timeline? This is an alternate story of Mega Man X4 (along with X5, X6, X7 and X8) and it also takes place after the final episode of Astro Boy (2003). Read & Review and please, no flames! Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Astro Meets The Maverick Hunters

It was another beautiful day in Metro City, ever since Astro has managed to maintain peace between humans and robots.

In the years that has passed, both factions continue to flourish in pure harmony.

However, only one man is still not convinced of co-existing with robots and that person is Drake. He only considers them to be an abomination and wanted nothing more than to see them destroyed, including Astro. But despite his last attempt, he ultimately failed and was sent to prison by Detective Tawashi; regardless of his protest.

Than one day, he escaped from Metro City Jail and is once again up to his old tricks. He returns to his fabled home and created a time machine using various robot junk and other robotic materials. Therefore, he would travel into the past and ensure that Astro didn't exist at all.

By activating the control panel, a large blue hole with black swirls appears in-front of him and is looking to re-write history until Astro arrives in the nick of time and throws a wicked punch to Drake's jaw.

He was about to crawl back to the time machine and continue, but not until Astro fires a laser beam from his fingertip that causes him to lose his balance.

This causes him to slam his elbow onto the keyboard and fall flat on his back.

As a result, the time machine started to scramble rapidly and later, some small electricity was surrounding it. Before long, the on-screen image shows the destination year: 21XX. And then, it begins to absorb everything inside with its sheer velocity. Drake immediately heads for the nearest exit until he is stopped by the Metro City Police, led by Dr. O' Shay, Yuko Kisaragi and Detective Tawashi.

They right away arrest him with handcuffs and escort the ruthless man downstairs.

Once the police had taken care of Drake, Dr. O' Shay becomes very shocked to see a strange portal trying to take Astro inside. "Astro! Get away from there!"

Astro tries to escape from being transported into a different dimension, but the massive time portal continues to build up more speed and his rocket boots had overheated. He quickly grabs hold onto the antenna and struggles to hang on, just as he sees Dr. O' Shay extending his hand. out to him. "Doctor! Yuko! That hole is trying to take me in!"

"Hang on, Astro! Hurry! Take my hand!" As he clutches onto the pipeline of an electricity box, Astro tries to reach out and grab Dr. O' Shay's hand.

Unfortunately, the time portal had picked up more adrenaline and it forced Astro to lose his grip from the antenna and got sucked inside the hole.

"Astro!" called Dr. O' Shay as he and Yuko both watch helplessly in horror to see Astro disappear into the time portal.

Afterwards, the time machine had shut down due to its overuse of power.

Tears started to appear in Dr. O' Shay's eyes and sank down to his knees. "Astro...no. Where did you end up?"

Even Yuko began to shed tears for Astro's departure.

Elsewhere in the year 21XX, a large blue hole appeared from the sky and Astro had popped out from it.

As he opened his eyes, he continues to fall until he sees a mysterious building that looks to be headquarters. Just then, his rocket boots had backed up and was able to fly to safety. "Whew! That was close." This was the least of his worries as thick black clouds covered the whole sky and lightning flashed across, while the thunder roared. He then surveyed the premises and realizes that he's in a different world. "That's odd. What is this place?" Suddenly, his amplification ears had been activated to a nearby conversation coming from that very building and as the storm continues on, Astro listens carefully to a private conversation from outside, while he activates his special voice recording feature:

Unknown: "It's about the Maverick Hunters, General. They are far too eager to please the humans and continue to hunt down the Reploids. Do you believe they pose a significant threat?"

General: "Perhaps."

Unknown: "You already know the truth, General. Their sole mission has been to destroy any Reploids who fail to do as the humans order!"

General: "Hmm…"

Unknown: "It's in your best interest to stop them now, before they turn on you! You possess enough power to destroy them!"

General: "…You are dismissed."

Unknown: "What?!"

General: "I will not betray the humans. Remove yourself from my sight. My business with you has concluded…"

Unknown: "Heh, Heh, Heh…very well. But you will change your mind soon, I assure you! Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha…Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha!"

After listening to the conversation, Astro shuts off his voice recording program and became very concerned regarding the mysterious figure talking to the General. "I don't know who they are, but that second person sounds very troubling. If that's not surprising, where exactly am I?"

Just as he was about to contemplate his arrival in this strange new world, a massive green winged robotic creature flew across the sky and is heading to a floating island nearby.

Believing that it might attack the floating island, Astro quickly makes haste. "Whatever that is, I can't let it go near that island! I have to stop it!" He manages to catch-up with the flying green robotic creature and had no trouble avoiding its laser orbs shooting from out of its mouth, while preventing it from reaching its destination. Finally, he grabs its tail, hoists it up in the air and throws it to the ground.

It fires more electric orbs, but Astro counter-attacks with a laser cannon from his arm and blasted the green robotic creature right through its chest, where it resulted in a huge explosion.

"That takes care of it." He then spots two mysterious figures running on the bridge. One was a blue Reploid with a red gem on its helmet and next to him was a red Maverick Hunter with a yellow ponytail. Not knowing of whom they are, he zooms over the bridge and listens to their conversation with his amplification ears.

"Hey, X. Let's hurry and head to the main reactor."

"You got it, Zero. We can't allow the Mavericks to plummet the Sky Lagoon."

After overhearing their discussion through his amplification ears, he understood the situation. "If what they say is true, then that's where I'll be going." He zips across the bridge and streets of Sky Lagoon with no trouble at all, while taking down oncoming robotic enemies along the way.

Unbeknownst to Astro, X and Zero have spotted him.

"Huh? Who is that?"

"I don't know. I've never seen him before." Zero gasped and realized of where he's heading. "Oh, no! He's making a direct course to the main reactor!"

"Then, let's go!"

While X and Zero try to catch-up, Astro has managed to locate the main reactor by punching through the wall and confront the perpetrator that is about to destroy the main power source of Sky Lagoon.

"Hold it right there!"

The dragon-like intruder narrowed his eyes at him and realized that he's not of this world. "You are not Reploid, nor are you Maverick. Just who and what are you?"

"I'm Astro and I'm a robot" he told him.

Much to the Maverick's chagrin, he laughed. "A robot? Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha! Do you really believe that you stand a chance against me? Don't be so bold! I'm going to bring the Sky Lagoon down!"

Knowing that the floating island he is on has been identified, he replied back at him. "I won't let you! There are thousands of innocent lives down here!"

"I don't care!" He fires his scorching fireball from his hand and onto the main reactor. He begins to take off, but not before introducing himself to Astro. "Try and make it out of here alive, Astro. And know this; you will know me as Magma Dragoon." He tears a hole in the ceiling and leaving Astro by himself with the entire island beginning to fall.

"Not good. I've got to stop this from falling!" Like Magma Dragoon, Astro also exits from the ceiling and hoping to prevent the entire floating island from crashing into the ground by going underneath it.

Around the same time, X and Zero have also felt the island rumbling.

"What the hell? The Sky Lagoon is about to crash! The city below will soon become a sea of flames! Many people will perish!"

"Then, we have no choice but to escape from here! Let's move!"

As X and Zero make their way out of Sky Lagoon, Astro has also exited by going underneath the floating island and utilizing all of his robotic strength to avoid certain disaster.

Regardless of his robotic strength of one million horsepower, he's having some slight difficulty of preventing Sky Lagoon from crashing. "It's too heavy. I need to think fast. Huh?" He later notices an ocean nearby and not a moment too soon, he takes his risk. "This might be my only chance. Let's rocket!" By amplifying all of his strength from inside himself, he carefully and successfully moves the Sky Lagoon to a different direction.

Magma Dragoon overhears the strange noises and turns around to see a shocking discovery: the Sky Lagoon is moving. "What?! I-Impossible! How can it still function?!" He activates his scanner in his optic sensors and witnesses another startling surprise. "It's...It's that robot! B-But, how can this be? No one has that much power to move an entire island like that! Curses! My plan is up in smoke!" As he turns to leave, he spots a lone Reploid down below. "Ah! Looks like I've caught a lucky break." As he turns to see Astro continuing to move Sky Lagoon into the ocean and successfully preventing the massacre, he goes off to his next target.

Not only was Magma Dragoon deeply shocked of witnessing Sky Lagoon being moved, so were X and Zero.

"Z-Zero! A-Are you seeing this?!"

"I see it, but I don't believe it! The Sky Lagoon has been saved! But, how?"

Before the red Maverick Hunter could come up with an answer, a loud screaming voice had interrupted his concentration.

"What was that scream?" said X.

"That was Iris! She's in trouble! C'mon!" informed Zero, as they move onward to rescue the female Reploid.

Around the same time that happened, Astro emerged from the sea and by hearing someone's call for help through his amplification ears, he also hurries to the scene.

Deep below the city, Magma Dragoon is holding Iris hostage.

"Well, now. It looks like that I have an escort."

"Let me go! You're not my type!"

A few minutes later, X and Zero have arrived and hopefully to free Iris from the clutches of Magma Dragoon. X readies his Mega Buster, while Zero grips his Z-Sword.

"Dragoon! Release her, this instant!"

"And we mean it! This has nothing to do with her!"

The fiery Maverick laughed. "Is that so? Then, how did the Sky Lagoon land safely on its own, even though I knocked out the main reactor? Or is it possible that you had an extra recruit along the way?"

Both X and Zero became utterly confused and looked at each other.

"Zero, what is he talking about?"

"I don't have a clue." Zero turns back to Dragoon. "Now, listen. We don't have any reinforcements with us. It's only me and X."

During the confrontation between the Maverick Hunters and the Maverick holding Iris as his prisoner, Astro arrives on the scene and hides behind the rubble of scrapped junk while over-viewing the scenario. By comparing the differences between the two factions including the captor, he must act fast. "I've got to help them!" He starts scanning Magma Dragoon inside his optic lenses. "If I could aim at his leg, I might be able to free her. I will need to re-charge my Digi-Beam." He re-charges his Digi-Beam on his finger and carefully aims at Magma Dragoon's lower leg before waiting for the right moment.

As for Magma Dragoon, he tightened his grip on Iris's throat. "I don't believe you. If you won't tell me where he is, then I'll have to terminate this wench!" He draws his fiery strength on his fist and aims at Iris's face as she becomes terrified.

"Don't you dare!" yelled Zero to Dragoon.

"It's too late! Die!" Just as he was about to be burn Iris into a crispy death, a new voice had interjected by firing his laser from his finger.

"Now!" He fired it at the exact time and blasted it right at his lower leg, nearly missing Iris's leg by a few inches.

Thus, Dragoon's hold on her was released. He fell on his knee and growled with anger. "Wh-Who did that?! Show yourself!"

The intruder unveiled himself into the battlefield and punched Dragoon right in the face with such force that it sent him reeling and crashed right up against the wall.

X and Zero have managed to get Iris to safety.

"Thank goodness that she's alright."

"I agree. Are you okay, Iris?"

She answered to them. "I am. But, who was that? He saved my life."

"Over there fighting Dragoon and look at him go" told X, pointing the fight between the Maverick and Astro.

Dragoon tries valiantly to get the upper hand by utilizing his fire techniques, but Astro manages to avoid his attacks. "Stand still, you little rodent!"

Astro returns the favor by firing his Digi-Beam from his finger straight at Dragoon and gets knocked down again.

Dragoon slowly rises to his feet, lets out a scream of anger and by opening his mouth; he fires a scorching beam of fire from his mouth straight at Astro. However, he counterattacks by transforming his arms into laser cannons and immediately fires them at Dragoon's fire-wave.

It became a fierce battle of tug-of-war between them until Dragoon's fire-wave fizzled out and got blasted by Astro's cannons, where it sends him crashing right into the debris of old machinery mixed with oil. Thus, it lit up a small spark and resulted in a big explosion.

Zero became utterly surprised of Astro's willpower overcoming Dragoon's fire attacks. "A-Amazing."

Astro landed safely and begins asking Dragoon about his role of knocking down the Sky Lagoon. "Talk! Why did you do it and for what purpose?"

Although damaged beyond repair by the result of Astro's laser cannons and leaving nothing left but his head and lower body, Dragoon slowly spoke. "I've...always wanted...to...fight...X and...Zero...Then...he...appeared..."

Once Zero, X and Iris joined in, Astro again questions him. "He? Who's he?"

Dragoon replied slowly. "...He...told me...he'd give me power...only if I worked...for Repliforce. In order to...goad them...into fighting."

X, Zero and Iris gasped simultaneously.

"You did all of this just so that you could fight them?! How could you do something like that?!" cried Astro.

"It...It was...worth...a duel. A duel...that I...couldn't...refuse." And with that, Dragoon exploded into nothingness.

There was nothing that Astro could do to save him. He shook his head in disbelief. "Why must we fight among ourselves? It doesn't solve anything." When he turned around, he was halted by the tip of a Z-Saber that nearly reached his neck by a few inches. It was Zero and next to him are X and Iris.

"Who are you and where did you come from? Answer me!" he yelled in a serious tone.

"Zero, take it easy" informed X to him. He approaches to Astro and asks calmly, while Zero lowers his weapon. "Forgive my partner, Zero, he's always like that. I'm X and we're Maverick Hunters. May I ask who you are?"

"Certainly. My name is Astro and I'm a robot" he said.

Both X and Zero gasped in bewilderment.

Astro blinked his eyes in confusion. "Is there something wrong?"

"We haven't had any robots in a very long time. In fact, you're not from around here, are you?" thought Zero, narrowing his eyes at him.

"No, I'm not. I was trying to prevent someone from changing history by going back in time and that's when I was transported here. Which reminds me, what year is this?" he asked them.

X answered him. "This will be a shock. You're in the twenty-second century."

"What?!" gasped Astro. "Then, how do I go back to my own world?"

Both X and Zero looked at each other for a few seconds, before turning back to Astro and answered.

"For right now, there's nothing that we can do. We're in the middle of a struggle between the Repliforce and the Mavericks."

"And from the looks of things, you've really made a name for yourself by saving Iris."

Astro's eyes were widened in awe. "Iris?"

The young female steps forward, confronts Astro with a sly smile on her cute face and clasped his hands with hers. "You're the one that saved me? Thank you."

A small hint of redness appeared on his robotic cheeks. "Y-You're welcome. Your name sounds very beautiful, along with yourself."

Not only Astro blushed, so did Iris. "Oh...Oh, my!"

Zero became infuriated of the fact that Astro is being sincere to her and was about to throw a punch at him until X intervened.

"But, X..."

"No buts."

Astro became concerned about Iris's slight embarrassment. "Are you okay? Did I..." He was going to finish his sentence until Iris turned around and threw her arms around his neck. "Was it something I said?"

Iris shook her head and replied back to him. "No. That was very nice of you to say that about me. You even manage to outmatch that Maverick you've defeated."

"Huh? You mean Magma Dragoon?" asked Astro.

She nodded with a smile and Astro smiled back at her.

Just then, a uniformed Reploid arrived on the scene.

Zero and X instantly recognized the individual.

"Colonel! What are you doing here?"

"Has the Repliforce been occupying this area?"

He replied to each of them. "First off, it's good to see again, Zero. And as for you, the Repliforce weren't involved in this region. I only came here to save my sister."

"She's fine. But I didn't rescue her. He did." He points Colonel to Astro, holding his hands with Iris.

Colonel's eyes grew very sternly. "Who the devil are you?"

Astro introduced himself to Colonel. "My name is Astro and I've been transported here by accident from a time portal. In short, I'm from the twenty-first century."

"What?!" gasped Colonel.

Not only was he deeply shocked, so were X, Zero and Iris.

At first, Colonel was about to strike his weapon at him. But by reading his expression very carefully, he sheathes weapon. "Alright, Astro. Explain yourself as to why you're here."

"I was preventing a human named Drake from altering history and that's when I ended up here. Also, I do believe as to whom the culprit is that enforced Magma Dragoon to bring the Sky Lagoon down and it's possible that your unit weren't involved at all" told Astro.

Both X and Zero were both very surprised of Astro's words.

Except for Iris. She is starting to believe Astro's side of the story regarding the Repliforce. _"Astro, what is it that you're telling my brother about?"_

As for the Colonel, he was still not convinced. "That's still not enough information relating to the Repliforce. They came here to help. We only drop our weapons, when we aren't able to fight any longer."

"It's the truth! You've got to believe me!" cried Astro.

The Colonel countered. "The Repliforce would rather fight and perish then to discard our place. Soldiers would never drop their weapons! I will not do it! Not even for you or them!"

Zero grunted over the Colonel's words. "Then they'll think you're a Maverick!"

Astro disagrees. "No, you're wrong! I'll prove that he isn't with my voice recording."

X gasped. "V-Voice recording? Does it contain solid evidence about the Repliforce?"

He nodded and as he opened his chest cavity, he plays the voice recorded message to them:

 _Unknown: "It's about the Maverick Hunters, General. They are far too eager to please the humans and continue to hunt down the Reploids. Do you believe they pose a significant threat?"_

 _General: "Perhaps."_

 _Unknown: "You already know the truth, General. Their sole mission has been to destroy any Reploids who fail to do as the humans order!"_

 _General: "Hmm…"_

 _Unknown: "It's in your best interest to stop them now, before they turn on you! You possess enough power to destroy them!"_

 _General: "…You are dismissed."_

 _Unknown: "What?!"_

 _General: "I will not betray the humans. Remove yourself from my sight. My business with you has concluded…"_

 _Unknown: "Heh, Heh, Heh…very well. But you will change your mind soon, I assure you! Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha…Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha!"_

Right after Astro played the voice recorded message by closing his chest cavity, everybody stood there in total shock and disbelief.

Only X and Zero were more shocked then Iris and Colonel. They instantly recognized the person's voice that was talking to the General of Repliforce.

"Z-Zero! That was..."

"Sigma!" He clenched his fist tightly. "I should've known that it was him pulling the strings behind Repliforce!"

The Colonel didn't know what to say. He stood there completely frozen after Astro had revealed the actual truth about the Repliforce and the Mavericks. _"He...He was right. Has the Repliforce become...a disgrace?"_

While he was left visibly shaken, Astro reasons with him. "Don't condemn yourself, Colonel. It's my belief that he blinded him with such false information that it will cause both factions to hurt one another. All of this is just a ploy in his silly game!"

Colonel gasped with his eyes widened.

"You mean to tell me that Sigma's plan is for both Reploids and Mavericks to turn against each other?!" says Zero with rage in his eyes.

"And by branding the Repliforce as Mavericks?!" added X.

Astro nods his head slightly. "That's right."

Whereas Iris, she felt very discouraged. "I-I don't know what to say." She was about to cry until Astro placed his hand on her shoulder.

"You mustn't think like that." Astro continued. "The hardships that I've encountered in my world has helped me to settle the differences between humans and robots. Basically, the humans and robots who influence me are the ones who believe in me. That's why I never give in and never give up. Fighting solves nothing. It will only create more hatred. If we work together, than we can put an end to Sigma's scheme. I fight for both the humans and robots." He concludes his sentence with a smile.

Iris became astounded of his words. "A-Astro." Her smile grew into a crescent shape moon. "That was very kind of you. Thanks."

His smile had immediately turned into sadness by turning his head away.

"What's wrong? Why the long face?" asked Iris, curiously.

"I'm not sure of what worries me the most: Helping you out with this crisis that's similar to Metro City or how to get into contact with Dr. O'Shay and the others."

By understanding the sudden grief on Astro's face and body language, Colonel placed his hand on his shoulder and replied to him. "We'll find a way. But for right now, you must come with me. Your explanation behind the Repliforce relating to the Sky Lagoon and the General's meeting has intrigued me." He later turns his attention to Zero and X. "As for your request, I might consider calling off the coup."

Both Zero and X became relieved of his decision.

"Really? You mean it?"

"That's great!"

Colonel, on the other hand, might have some doubts. "Don't be too sure of yourselves. I want to know, if Astro's belief about the Repliforce and the Mavericks are highly true. Let's go, Astro."

He nodded his head. "Yes, sir." Before he left with him, he turns back to X, Zero and Iris. "I'll see you later."

After watching Astro leave with the Colonel, X begins to ponder about Astro's presence by crossing his arms.

"What's up, X? You look troubled" says Zero to him.

"I'm getting the impression that because he came from the past and into our future, he might cause a time paradoxes."

Zero gasped in bewilderment.

Whereas Iris, she became curious. "What do you mean in particular, X?"

X continued. "Because that he's from another world, our timeline could be affected. There's a risk of altering the future by re-writing it."

"Meaning?" says an uncertain Iris.

"If he does something now in the future, history might even change...forever" told X to Iris and Zero.

Both Iris and Zero gasped in unison after X becomes suspicious of Astro getting involved, when he re-appeared from another timeline.

"I understand your concern, X. But for right now, let's head back to Maverick Hunter Headquarters" stated Zero and X.

"Understood. C'mon, Iris."

She attempts to follow the Maverick Hunters, but not until looking back at the individual that saved her life earlier. _"Astro."_

Meanwhile, back in the current timeline of Metro City, Detective Tawashi interrogated Drake after his arrest and explained that he wanted to change the present state of Metro City by eliminating Astro before he became a robot including his existence as Tobio.

Once Detective Tawashi informs Dr. O'Shay about Drake's foolish attempt of altering history, he slammed his fists on his desk. "The nerve of Drake trying to get rid of Astro, before he was even born by time-hopping! He'll never understand that both humans and robots are now co-existing with each other, due to the new robot law!"

"That wasn't the only thing I've found out from Drake" told Detective Tawashi to Dr. O'Shay.

"Is it about Astro?"

He nodded. "Yeah. According to the time machine that he used, Astro has been sent into another dimension."

Both Dr. O'Shay and Yuko gasped in unison.

"Wh-What did you say?"

"Oh, no!"

"It's true that Astro has been transported through a time portal, but it's not in the futuristic or past Metro City. He's been sent to another world" says Detective Tawashi.

As Dr. O'Shay gulped his throat down, he asks him very nervously. "I hate to say this but, what year is Astro in?"

Detective Tawashi took a deep breath and unveiled his answer. "Astro is in the twenty-second century. In other words, the year 21XX."

Dr. O'Shay fell back into his chair in shame. "No." He placed his hands on his head and slumped down after learning of Astro's whereabouts. "This...this is a nightmare. It's even worse than the Robotonia incident."

Yuko just stood there in silence and misery had filled up her pretty face. She was about to shed some tears until Dr. O'Shay stood up from his chair and made an odd proclamation.

"There's only one way to find Astro and I know just the man that can help us."

When Detective Tawashi realizes of whom Dr. O'Shay is referring to, his eyes were widened in shock. "You don't mean..."

He interjected. "Yes, I'm afraid so. We need Dr. Tenma."

Yuko felt very uneasy of Dr. O'Shay needing Dr. Tenma's assistance. _"I...I have a bad feeling about this."_

 **To Be Continued...**

 _End of Episode 1_


	2. A New Partnership

Disclaimer: I don't own Astro Boy or Mega Man X. Only their respective companies and creators do. Again, this is an alternate timeline of Mega Man X4 to X8 if Astro Boy arrived from a time dilation portal and into Mega Man X's timeline. Read & Review and please, no flames! Enjoy!

Chapter 2: A New Partnership

Inside Colonel's office of the Repliforce, the Colonel glanced at the window and having his hands behind his back. He couldn't help but feeling upset and ashamed of hearing the General's meeting through Astro's voice recording awhile ago. After several minutes of silence, he heard a notification sound from the corridors. Indicating that there's someone here, he answered the call. "Enter."

The corridors were opened and Astro entered with a look of concern on his robotic face. "You wanted to see me, Colonel?"

"I did." He turns around and begins to question Astro's appearance and his involvement with Repliforce. "I don't know who you are, nor do I care as to whom created you. But your information regarding the General speaking with this individual has sparked my curiosity."

"Well, first off. I want to thank you for recharging me" informed Astro smiling.

Colonel countered. "There's no need for that. Now tell me, who was the General speaking with?"

"Zero said that his name is Sigma and when I replayed my voice recording, my electro-heart tells me that he's an evil person and is responsible for corrupting the Repliforce from within. What I'm trying to say is that your group is being manipulated by him," says Astro to Colonel.

"What?! Is there anything else?"

Astro nodded his head. "By using my amplification ears that can hear one-thousand times harder than a human and robot, I listened to General's meeting with Sigma about X and Zero and showed it to you; long before I defeated a flying green Mechaniloid that Zero recognized it as Eregion. After that, I infiltrated the main reactor of the Sky Lagoon and confronted Magma Dragoon. It is my strong belief that he fell under Sigma's influence by destroying the main reactor and causing the floating colony to crash until I prevented the massacre from happening. In which, I utilized my one million horsepower strength before I came to Iris's rescue."

When Astro was finished, the Colonel stood there in sheer bewilderment. He couldn't believe from what he has learned, relating to the Sky Lagoon with the Repliforce nearly labeled as Mavericks by being wrongfully accused from a common enemy. He turns away from Astro and stares back at the window in disbelief. Having realized the truth about the Sky Lagoon and the Repliforce altogether, he replies back to him. "Astro."

"Yes?"

Colonel turns back to Astro and responded with a smile. "Thank you for telling me everything. As of this moment, I will call off the coup."

"I'm glad to hear that, Colonel. I'll be heading back to see X and Zero. However..." Astro's face turned from glad to sad, due to his absence from his timeline in Metro City and unable to see his friends again. "Being here doesn't feel like the same back in Metro City. I mean, how long do I have to stay here?"

"Your time here will be done, once the mission has been dealt with. But since that you're very eager of contacting your comrades, I have a favor to ask" told Colonel.

"I'm listening" said Astro.

Meanwhile, back in Metro City in the year 2043, Dr. O'Shay and his assistant, Yuko visit Metro City Police headquarters while being accompanied by Detective Tawashi and his robotic partner, Delta.

Detective Tawashi asks Dr. O'Shay about his strange proposal to lending Dr. Tenma's assistance. "Are you sure that negotiating with him would help you find Astro?"

"We don't have much of a choice, Detective Tawashi. After all, Astro has forgiven him."

Yuko gasped. "Seriously? After everything that Umataro has done in the past?"

Dr. O'Shay replied. "As hard as it may sound, but it's true. If it hadn't been for Dr. Tenma, Astro nor Tobio wouldn't have existed."

They've walked past several criminals locked up inside their chambers such as Katari, Skunk, Hamegg, The Repo Girls and many more until they've reached the cell containing Astro's greatest nemesis: his father, Dr. Umataro Tenma.

The former Minister of the Ministry of Science became very surprised to receive some visitors inside his cell. "Huh? O'Shay? Yuko? What's the meaning of this?"

"Dr. Tenma, both myself and Yuko would like to speak with you...privately."

Not knowing of what he meant, Dr. Tenma narrowed his eyes. "Okay, than. Is it about...Astro?"

Both Dr. O'Shay and Yuko looked at each other for a few seconds until they nodded their heads in agreement.

Dr. Tenma sighed. "Alright. Tell me everything."

Immediately inside the conversation room with Inspector Tawashi and Delta watching from another room by seeing through the reflection mirror, Dr. O'Shay and Yuko began their conversation with Dr. Tenma about Astro's whereabouts.

"You see, Dr. Tenma, it goes like this: despite that both humans and robots are now living in pure harmony with the new robot law, Drake refuses to accept it and does the unthinkable. He built a time machine by going back into Astro's past and re-writing it. In other words, he wanted to erase Astro's existence before he was created, along with Tobio not being born."

"You're kidding me?" cried Dr. Tenma.

"This is no joke, Dr. Tenma. Drake was trying to get rid of Astro, due to his paranoia of relinquishing all robots. Truth be told, Detective Tawashi revealed to me and Yuko that he's responsible for deceiving everyone about General Red's daughter supposedly pushed by her robotic friend, Jake down a flight of stairs. In which, she merely tripped and he was falsely accused of a crime he didn't commit" told Dr. O'Shay to him.

"Meaning that the Robotonia incident was all his doing?"

Dr. O'Shay nods his head.

As Dr. Tenma lowered his head slightly, he responds with a shocking twist. "I see. That's almost more surprising...than my late wife."

Both Dr. O'Shay and Yuko gasped in unison.

"Your what?"

"You never told us about that!"

He continued. "Well, it all happened a very long time ago. Just years before O'Shay was in-charge, I took the leading role in the Ministry of Science and showed Tobio about the advancement of robots. He kept refusing to accept the new designs by replacing the old ones that would usher in the new era of robots. I was very devoted in my life's work of robotic technology that it would consume me from the inside and out. That's when my life changed dramatically. My only son, Tobio was killed in a car accident and I did everything in my power to bring back the son that I lost. Although that I was successful, my wife, Hoshie asked for a divorce when my affections was diminishing by simply rejecting him. However, due to my conflict with her, she became depressed and lived a new life afterwards. Sadly, it didn't last long and by the time I've arrived at the hospital, it was already too late. Her life had ended from the case of tuberculosis and it has left me in a very solemn state; long before my deep ambition of a world ruled by robots and Astro being re-activated by you, O'Shay."

Right after he revealed his hidden past to them, Dr. O'Shay became very perplexed of Dr. Tenma unveiling his creation of Astro. "My goodness. That's quite a story. But, why did you have to keep this for so long?"

"Just consider this my deepest regrets. If Tobio was more aware of his surroundings, he would've never become Astro. Nevertheless, I never realized up until now that he would act as a substitute rather than as a replacement."

Yuko understood Dr. Tenma's pain and replied. "You should've said that from the start. Otherwise, none of this wouldn't have happened."

He scoffed by slamming his fists on the desk. "I didn't know better!" He sighed heavily and released his hands. He turns to O'Shay. "Now, than. You said earlier about Drake using a time machine to remove Astro from this world. Is that true?"

"Yes, indeed. While he was arrested, the time machine itself began to malfunction and Astro got sucked into that portal. In other words..." As he sweat profusely from his forehead, Dr. O'Shay revealed the shocking destination. "He is in the twenty-second century."

From that very moment, Dr. Tenma's mouth dropped wide open and stood frozen in fear. He couldn't believe that his original creation whom he tried to bring back as his son has been sent into the distant future. He placed his hand over his forehead and began to ponder his thoughts. _"I never thought that I would see the day. Assisting Dr. O'Shay to help find and retrieve Astro. Perhaps, I was too occupied in my robotic work."_ He smiled to himself.

Dr. O'Shay immediately detected his cunning grin. "Don't tell me that you're up to your old schemes again, Tenma."

He turns to Dr. O'Shay and returned back with a friendly smile. "Actually, I'm not. In fact, I have a confession to make; after the new robot law was made, I've remained in my cell ever since Astro forgave me for my heinous crimes. Because of this and everything else involved, I've been rehabilitated. Our alternate purposes gives us a chance to end our heated rivalries and start anew. Therefore, I'd be more than willing to assist you in retrieving Astro from the future."

The Head Minister of the Ministry of Science and his assistant couldn't believe their eyes. Astro's arch-nemesis has not only put away his differences with them, but has also turned a new leaf. They both became even more surprised to see him stand up from his seat and extend his hand out to them.

"What do you say, O'Shay and Miss Yuko? Shall we finally work together as a team and bring back Astro?"

At first glance, Dr. O'Shay and Yuko looked at each other's faces feeling very speechless. But now that Dr. Tenma has decided to reform himself, they both smiled to each other and offered his handshake.

"I believe that we can and we'll have you released in no time."

Dr. Tenma nodded. "I'm glad to hear that. Now, let's get to work."

As for Detective Tawashi, his arms were folded and right after he observed their conversation and newfound partnership from another room by a see-through mirror, he grunted with displeasure and narrowed his eyes with deep concern. _"I don't like this at all."_

Immediately back at Maverick Hunter Headquarters, Zero, X, Iris and now, Double, who joined in, are waiting for Astro's arrival.

"It's been awfully quiet, since Astro defeated Magma Dragoon. Hard to believe that he easily overpowered him." Zero surveys the cities via computer and instantly becomes surprised of what he is seeing. "Huh? That's strange. Most of the cities haven't been occupied. Except for the abandoned bio-lab and cyber network. What is going on?"

"Remember from what happened earlier? Colonel said that he wanted to speak with Astro about the information he discovered, regarding Repliforce's involvement." X crossed his arms and continued. "If that's likely true..." He paused and smiled. "That means Colonel has called off the coup."

Iris gasped. "How can you be so sure? There's no way that my brother would've stopped it." As she continued to talk by disagreeing, X, Zero and Double began to shiver upon seeing someone standing behind Iris's back. "I mean, seriously. Even if Astro reasoned with him in regards to General's meeting about Repliforce, it wouldn't make a difference."

X, Zero and Double moved away from her in shock.

She shyly responds to him in embarrassment. "Oh, dear. Perhaps, I've said too much?"

"Th-That's not it, Iris. T-Turn around" informed Zero to her.

"Huh?" She slowly turns her head and much to her shocking surprise, there stood not only her brother, Colonel, but also Astro next to him. "Astro! Why is..." Due to her shock, she couldn't clarify her answer. Even Zero, X and Double can't believe either.

"Colonel?"

"In Maverick Hunter Headquarters?"

"This is new." Double scratched his head in confusion.

Astro glanced at Iris's shocking complexion and blinked his robotic eyes. "Is there something the matter?"

She answered. "A-Astro, how did you convince my brother about the coup?"

"What?" Astro's jaw dropped. "You're kidding me?!"

Colonel made a small laugh. "Forgive me for not telling you earlier, Astro, but she and I are related."

"Any particular reason, why? I mean, what is the connection between you two?" says a startled Astro.

The sub-commander of Repliforce explained his connection with Iris. "The truth of the matter is that my sister, Iris was developed by Repliforce scientists as half of the 'Perfect Soldier Program' and I am the other half. They've struggled to make us as one whole Reploid, but due to the irreconcilable differences between us, they had to split us into siblings. For myself, I'm labeled as a strong-willed Reploid warrior, while my sister is compassionate and kind. In fact, her attraction has gained Zero's attention; long before the Sky Lagoon accident and your sudden arrival."

Astro countered with his side of the story. "Really? I had no idea. This almost reminds me of the time, when Dr. Tenma tried effortlessly to bring me back as his son and yet, he failed."

"What?!" says everyone in unison.

"Wait a minute. Who's Dr. Tenma?" asked X.

"Was he the one that built you?" thought Zero.

By glancing at the Maverick Hunter's faces and then, Double, Iris and Colonel, he made a deep sigh. "Alright, I'll tell you everything."

For the past hour, Astro tells everyone about his origins; ranging from Dr. Tenma creating and abandoning him after his son, Tobio was killed in an automobile accident to the Robotonia incident and the new robot law that was made for humans and robots to co-exist with one another.

Right after revealing his true colours about himself and everything else that had transpired in his previous life, he concludes his story. "And that's how it is. I'm really sorry for not telling all of you about this, but this is who I am. I fight for both sides, regardless of their indifferences. Fighting doesn't solve anything. It would only lead to more conflict and it would be more better, if they could be friends by understanding each other."

Everyone nearly stood there in awe. That is, until Iris walked up to Astro and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Don't feel so down, Astro. You should be proud of the accomplishments that you've done and much like yourself, we also have human emotions."

"Seriously? I almost didn't notice. So, does that mean you're a robot too?" wondered Astro.

X answered to him. "In our world, we're called Reploids. They have the ability to act and think on their own, much like humans."

Astro felt awfully surprised. "Wow. That's amazing. In my hometown of Metro City, they're called AI Robots."

Both X and Zero smiled to each other and replied to him.

"Sounds to me that we have a lot in common."

"I agree." That's when Zero narrowed his eyes at Astro. "But I want to know something and it's been in my head for a little while. If I'm right, were you the one that prevented the Sky Lagoon from falling? No Reploid would have that much strength to lift an entire island like that."

"To be honest...yes."

Zero gasped in sheer bewilderment. "No way! Astro, do you have any idea what you've done?"

He replied. "Yeah, I moved that floating island to a nearby ocean and saved Iris from Magma Dragoon."

The red maverick hunter counters back with his own statement. "You did more than just that. You've saved millions of lives! Both Reploid and humans alike!"

Not only were X and Iris became stunned of the startling news about Astro's heroism, but so did Colonel.

He now fully understands the theory of it all: Astro has cleared Repliforce's name of the Sky Lagoon incident with solid information of General's secret meeting with Sigma that nearly lead to a conflict between the Maverick Hunters and Repliforce and saving millions of civilians. With that being said and done, along with a smile on his face, he responds to them. "Zero, X, as of this moment...I have officially called off the coup. Thanks to Astro."

"Terrific!" cheered Zero with enthusiasm.

"That's outstanding! What do you think, Double?" says X to him. But Double was nowhere to be found. "Double? Where did he go? He was here a moment ago and now, he just went up and left."

From Astro's standpoint, he felt that something was suspicious about Double. "My electro-heart tells me that he is an evil robot."

X's eyes were widened. "You can't be serious. He looked innocent to me, when he first showed up."

Astro shook his head in disagreement. "No, you're wrong. When I saw him walk out, he wasn't too happy about what I've done here. We have to go after him!"

As for Colonel, he has an alternative option. "Let him be, Astro. We have other business to contend with."

By recalling his previous meeting with Colonel, Astro retorted. "Oh, you're wanting to confront the General, correct?"

Colonel nodded. "That's right. If he broadcasts his message about the Repliforce being wrongfully judged as Mavericks, everything will fall into complete turmoil." He than motions to the red and blue maverick hunters and than his sister. "Zero, X, you're coming with me. Iris, you shall remain here."

Both X and Zero acknowledged Colonel's command.

Whereas Iris, she nod her head slightly.

All four men depart from Maverick Hunter Headquarters and confront the General in regards to his secret meeting with Sigma.

With their departure, Iris is left all alone. That is, until Double was standing from across the hallway and spots the Colonel's sister left unprotected. He actually didn't leave at all; he was hiding in plain sight.

He presses a secret red button on his chest and contacts his subordinate by speaking quietly. "Sir, Colonel's sister is all by herself. Shall I exterminate her?"

"No, that would draw attention to those Maverick Hunters and why hasn't the General made his move?"

Double sighed. "Another robot has joined the brigade and has managed to convince the Colonel to stop the coup. Truth be told, he calls himself 'Astro' and he's from another century."

"What?! I cannot believe this! I don't care who he is! For right now, just take her to the Final Weapon. Don't harm her...much." Right after giving Double the instructions, his communication link was cut-off.

The yellow flabby robot looks over his shoulder and sees Iris working at the communications board. After notifying his leader about the coup and Astro's arrival from another timeline, Double walks back into the room.

Upon hearing the loud footsteps, Iris whirled around to see Double back inside. "Oh, Double. I'd thought that you had left. What made you changed your mind?"

"It's a long story. Now, what's the progress of Repliforce?" asked Double to her.

She surveys the cities and much to her delight, none of them have been occupied and explained the situation. "Somehow, all of the Repliforce soldiers have been notified by my brother and are willing to assist us to track down the person responsible for nearly starting the coup. Yet, only two of them are Mavericks and must be taken care of," She turns to Double with a big smile on her lovely face. "Isn't that great news?"

Instead of agreeing with Iris, he has a different answer and made an evil smile. "Actually, it's bad news...for you."

As she reads his expression, she realizes that Double is acting very strangely. "What do you mean by that, Double and why are you acting so odd?"

Rather than replying back to her question, he turns away from her. Suddenly, his entire body is enshrouded with a menacing red aura and as he turns his head at her with a mean look, he reveals his true form by transforming from a short, overweight amicable to a taller, thinner and stronger Reploid with bloody red eyes. Each of his hands has sabers on-top and his body has a gelatin-like substance.

This had made Iris very terrified and just as she was about to contact her brother, Astro and the Maverick Hunters, Double punctures the communication line. Thus, preventing Iris from reaching out to her colleagues. She tries to escape, but Double grabs her by the hair and throws her back first to the wall. This resulted her being knocked unconscious.

With Iris out like a light, Double grins at his prey. He was about to slain her, until he has some second thoughts. "Normally, I would cut you in half. But for someone this attractive, it's just too good to pass up." He carries her over the shoulder and walks out of Maverick Hunter Headquarters.

Elsewhere, X, Zero, Colonel and Astro confront the General of Repliforce about his secretive meeting with Sigma from awhile back. Not just that, but also Astro's sudden visit via portal projection and assisted Colonel to stop the coup.

"General, you were tricked by Sigma! He wanted you to believe that we're the enemy but we're not! He even tried to blame Repliforce for the Sky Lagoon incident, when Magma Dragoon sided with him and knocked out the main reactor!" told X.

Zero was up next, regarding Astro's involvement. "We both thought that the entire island would claim millions of lives! Both human and robot alike! But thanks to Astro, he prevented that massacre from happening by lifting and carrying it to another location. He even rescued Iris from the clutches of Magma Dragoon and defeated him."

"Please, General. For the sake of Repliforce, agree with the Maverick Hunters...and Astro." The white soldier presents the tall yellow clad robot officer to Astro.

Astro looked up at General. He almost felt surprised of how tall and well-built he is, while sitting on his throne and glaring back at him. _"Holy cow! He reminds me of Pluto, but different."_

General stood up from his large chair and looked down at Astro from his level. There was silence between them until it was broken off, when he starts speaking to Astro. "How can a robot such as yourself would listen in to my private conversation?"

Despite the size difference, Astro continued on. "Simple. My amplification ears can hear one-thousand times harder than an ordinary human and robot and top it off, I have one-million horsepower to stop the floating island from crashing."

The tall yellow commander of Repliforce couldn't believe his robotic eyes. He has never met a robot with so much capabilities to not only prevent the Sky Lagoon from colliding with the city below it, but also listening into his conversation with the Maverick known as Sigma.

Even Zero and X can't believe it either.

"O-One million horsepower?"

"And hears one-thousand times harder?"

Whereas Colonel, he was mostly pleased, because he had spoken with Astro earlier after he saved his sister, Iris. "Yes, it's true. Even I'm amazed myself."

General folds his arms and thought about it. He looked sternly at Astro, regarding his involvement with Repliforce. Before he could broadcast his announcement, he asked Astro again. Only, he wants to know who built him and where he came from. "If I may be so bold, who was your creator and how did you end up here?"

Astro unveils his origin story. "A scientist by the name of Dr. Tenma created me, when he lost his son in an automobile accident. Because of his deep ambition of a world ruled by robots, he kept calling me 'Tobio' after Dr. O'Shay found me in the basement of the Ministry of Science and named me, 'Astro'. Back than, there were tensions between humans and robots due to the differences and conflicts surrounding them. Regardless, I fight for both the humans and robots. Since I've forgiven Dr. Tenma for his heinous actions, the robot law has been created in Metro City and both factions are now living in peace. That is, until Drake wanted to alter history by going back in time and erase my existence. Although that I was successful, the time portal has sent me here and..." He stopped and hang his head down. "I'm stuck here for who knows how long. I may not see Dr. O'Shay and my friends, again."

There was little that both X and Zero could do to comfort him.

Just as Colonel was about to assist Astro of contacting his friends from his timeline, one of the Repliforce soldiers came running in with some disturbing news.

"Colonel! We have a major problem!"

"What could be more important than this?" he wondered.

By catching his breath, he revealed to him and everybody the horrifying truth. "Iris has been...abducted."

"What?!" they all shouted.

While the Maverick Hunters, Astro and Repliforce are reeling with shock, up in outer space, Double has brought Iris onboard and into a mysterious ship.

He cackled with delight and sees Iris coming to her senses.

"Why are you doing this, Double and for what purpose?" she asks him.

"Hee, Hee, Hee. Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha! The Mavericks, Hunters and Repliforce...Idiots, all of them. They're making my job too easy!"

Iris could feel her body shaking with fear. "What are you saying?"

"Isn't it obvious? I was sent by Sigma to spy on those pesky Maverick Hunters and Repliforce and I have only one purpose in mind: to kill them!" He ends his sentence with a sickening laugh and that leaves Iris horrified at the hands of a cold-hearted Maverick.

She than had a future vision: all of her beloved friends and family such as Zero, her brother and now, Astro slaughtered at the hands of Double. By dropping to her knees, she began to sob softly as tears fell down from her pretty face and onto the pavement.

Double begins to feel irritated of hearing Iris's snivelling over her possibly deceased friends and family. He slowly walks over to her, raises his blade and proceeds to vanquish her until he hears the sounds of his small red button coming from his chest. He turns around and presses it. Despite the quiet voice-box, he can still hear it.

"It's me, again. Haven't I told you earlier? Don't terminate her, yet!"

"And why not? Her crying is getting on my damn nerves! It's much worse than the coup being called off! She should perish!"

The shadowy figure had his arms and tapped his fingers. Fortunately, he has quickly come up with an alternate motive. "Not quite. I have a better idea. Send out a challenge to this Astro person. I want to know more about him. His appearance his intrigued me greatly."

The yellow-bladed Maverick sighed in disbelief. "Fine. Have it your way. Over and out." After a quick conversation, he turns back to Iris. "Well, missy. You've caught yourself a lucky break. You're the first victim to not fall by my blades."

Iris slowly raises her head up with small tears in her watery eyes. "You mean...that I've been spared?"

"For the moment. But once I combat with Astro, along with the Maverick Hunters, you'll be next in line!" Like before, he laughed madly once again.

Not wanting to hear anymore of his sick laughter and possibly being slain by him, Iris turns her head away in total shame.

 _ **To Be Continued...**_

 _End of Episode 2_


	3. Iris's Rescue

Disclaimer: I don't own Astro Boy or Mega Man. Only their respective companies do. As I've said from before, this is an alternate story of Mega Man X4 to X8, if Astro was sent to another world and changed the course of the Mega Man X universe. Read and Review, please!

Chapter 3: Iris's Rescue

Back at Maverick Hunter Headquarters, Zero, X, Astro and Colonel have inspected the damage, when they were out chatting with General about Sigma's secret plot within Repliforce. The communication line at the centre console was punctured and outside of the base, all of the Hunters of X's seventieth unit have been slaughtered.

Astro became shocked to see the amount of carnage that was left by Double. "This is a disaster. Who could've done this and kidnap Iris?"

Colonel and the Maverick Hunters manage to repair the hole that was made earlier and it was back online. Once it was done, they've noticed a small notification with an exclamation point and it kept on beeping.

"What does this mean?" asked Zero.

"Sounds to me that there was trouble, while we were away. It might lead us as to where Iris was taken" told Colonel to everyone. "Let's play the footage."

They all agreed and played the video that was recorded earlier. Fortunately, the picture was clear enough for them to see it and it was shown from the ceiling; nearly undetected.

That's when they see Double walking back inside with a disgruntled look on his face.

"Hey, it's Double. I wonder why he came back?" thought X.

Astro informs him to stay quiet and watch the recorded video.

 _Iris: "Oh, Double. I'd thought that you had left. What made you changed your mind?"_

 _Double: "It's a long story. Now, what's the progress of Repliforce?"_

 _Iris: "Somehow, all of the Repliforce's soldiers have been notified by my brother and are willing to assist us to track down the person responsible for nearly starting the coup. Yet, only two of them are Mavericks and must be taken care of. Isn't that great news?"_

 _Double: "Actually, it's bad news...for you."_

 _Iris: "What do you mean by that, Double? Is there something wrong?"_

What they saw next became very shocking. Double revealed his true self by changing into his thinner form with sharp blades on each arm and sinks his blade into the communication line by preventing her from contacting her friends. He then attacked Iris by grabbing her by the hair and flung her back first; rendering her out-cold.

 _Double: "Normally, I would cut you in half. But for someone this attractive, it's just too good to pass up."_

Afterwards, he carries on his shoulder and walks out of Maverick Hunter Headquarters with an evil grin on his face.

When it was finished, the picture fizzled out and was shut off by Colonel as he turns away in disgust.

Not only was he upset, so was Zero as he clenches his fists tightly over Iris's abduction. "That sick fiend! Wait till I get my hands on him, I'll break him apart!"

As for X, he was clueless about Double's true identity. "I don't get it. I...I trusted him! He sounded innocent, when I recruited him."

Astro narrowed his robotic eyes. "Not to me. He was upset, because I've saved countless lives from the Sky Lagoon and the Colonel calling off the coup."

"Are you saying that none of this wouldn't have happened, if you weren't involved?" asked X.

He shook his head in disagreement. "No, it's not that. When I saw him leave, my electro-heart tells me that he is a bad robot and was possibly spying on you."

Zero gasped in shock. "You can't be serious?"

"I am. But we don't much time to argue. We have to find Iris!" told Astro.

Suddenly, an alarming sound came from the center console and as Zero punched in the coordinates, a picture was shown to see Double in his true form and grinning at them.

"Greetings, you arrogant fools!"

Zero slams his fist on the keyboard and demanded to know Iris's whereabouts. "Where is she?!"

Double scoffed and moved away to show Iris lying on the ground and still unconscious with bruises on her body and face.

Everybody became stunned to see Iris in bad shape. Yet, Double hasn't taken her life, unlike the rest of the Hunters.

After that, he goes back to them. "Your little pipsqueak gal is fine for the time being. If you don't show up, her blood will be on my hands!"

X starts questioning him. "Why, Double? Why would you do this?"

Double laughed for awhile and answered. "The Mavericks, Hunters and Repliforce...Idiots, all of them. My job was going to be too easy until Astro showed up!"

Knowing that his name was called out, Astro stepped in and showed himself to Double. His expression was filled with anger.

For Double, he wasn't intimidated of his appearance and recalled his involvement. "You're going to regret coming here! If it weren't for you, things would've been perfect! I'm going to recycle you and the rest!"

"That's what you think! Where are you located?" asked Astro.

"The Final Weapon in outer space. You'd better show up, Astro...or else." After giving him a harsh message, the screen was shut off.

X, Zero and Colonel are infuriated of having to deal more than just one situation: to not only rescue Iris from Double's clutches, but also defeating the final two Mavericks and confront the person responsible within Repliforce.

Zero slams his fist in frustration, once again. "Damn it! With Iris held captive, we won't be able to track down the last remaining Mavericks. We can't handle two situations at the same time."

"And the General has yet to agree with Colonel's decision of stopping the coup," says X.

Colonel, on the other hand, frank fully smiled and responded back to them. "Actually, he has. Long before we came back here."

"Eh?!" says X, Zero and Astro in unison.

"My men have already been dispatched to combat with the last two Mavericks. Therefore, you shall rescue my sister by any means necessary. I will remain here and speculate the ongoing crisis. Head to the Final Weapon and may you all fight bravely."

Zero, X and Astro all became very elated that the General has not only accepted Colonel's decision of calling off the coup, but has also dispatched his Repliforce soldiers to deal with the Mavericks.

"Thank you, Colonel. Come on, X. Let's move out!"

"You bet!"

Just as Astro was about to join them, Colonel informs him. "Hold it, Astro. You told me earlier that you're willing to contact your comrades from your world. Is that right?"

He nods his head. "Yes, Colonel. Dr. O'Shay and the others are deeply worried about me, ever since I came here. Please, they mean so much to me."

By reading his expression carefully, he could tell that his behaviour almost mirrors Iris's kind personality. "If you insist."

Back at Metro City in the year 2043 and inside the Ministry of Science, Dr. O'Shay, Yuko, Reno and now the reinstated Dr. Tenma are repairing the damaged time machine that Drake had used to alter history before it was taken down.

"This will not be so easy restoring the way it was before. Even with our combined intelligence, this could result of messing things up" says Dr. O'Shay to Dr. Tenma.

"We'll never know until we try. Still, our main priority is bringing Astro back. No matter, what it takes."

Yuko whispers into Reno's ear about having Dr. Tenma working with Dr. O'Shay in the Ministry of Science as a new man. "What do you think of having Tenma working with us? He's a changed person after the Robotonia incident and the creation of the new robot law."

Reno scratched his head. "I'm not sure of how to answer that." Much like Yuko whispering in his ear, he returns the favour by whispering in her ear. "I mean, it's almost more surprising than me being raised from the Robot Circus until Dr. O'Shay signed the adpotation papers."

For the past hour or so, both Dr. O'Shay and Dr. Tenma worked really hard to re-fix the time machine by re-equipping it with newer parts and proper adjustments.

They were about to complete it until they were interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice coming from the overhead screen on the wall.

"Dr. O'Shay, come in! Dr. O'Shay, do you read me?"

Both Tenma and O'Shay gasped in unison, along with Yuko and Reno. They walked over to the reception desk to see the picture being all fuzzy, despite the sound being loud and clear.

Dr. O'Shay sat on the chair with Yuko and Reno standing next to him on the right and Tenma standing on the left. As he tries punching in the coordinates, the onscreen picture was coming up short and began to sweat profusely from his forehead.

Yuko and Reno looked at each other and then at Tenma; they nodded their heads in agreement. Yuko assists O'Shay with her robotic flamingo friend, Momo by connecting the source of the transmission with O'Shay's computer, while Tenma and Reno do the same procedure.

After several minutes, they've received a visual and Astro was onscreen to see them. They all became thrilled that Astro is alive and well.

"Doctor!" cried Astro.

The Minister of Science shed tears of relief. "Astro! Thank goodness, you're alright!"

His smile immediately faded to see his old enemy standing next to Dr. O'Shay with his arms crossed. "Tenma?! Why, are you..."

Dr. O'Shay cuts him off. "Take it easy, Astro. I know that this is a big shock and all but, Tenma has been rehabilitated after spending his time in Metro City Prison. In other words, we asked for his assistance to find you."

"And it paid off well." Dr. Tenma narrowed his eyes. "Now, tell me, Astro, what's it like in your world?"

The saviour of Metro City didn't know what to say to the man that he forgave, years ago. The same person that tried to turn him back into his deceased son, Tobio. Without a moment to spare regarding the current situation that is now happening in the other world, he explained. "Well, it's far more advanced than ours. The world that I'm in doesn't have much human population and the robots are called 'Reploids'. They have the same ability that I have with Kokoro: human emotions."

Everyone gasped in bewilderment to hear Astro's story, while he pressed forward.

"I know that this very complicated, but I'm in the middle of a struggle between the Reploids and Mavericks."

Dr. Tenma's eyes flashed in vigor. "Mavericks?"

"What are they?" asked Dr. O'Shay.

"I don't know, either. Right now, they need my help and I'm putting a stop to whoever's causing this mess." His seriousness turned to gladness. "But I'm really glad that I get to see you all again." Astro turns to Colonel and informs him of the time restraint. "I wish that I could talk more, but I've got to go. Also, tell Zoran and the others my regards. See you!" The overhead screen went black and the connection from another world was lost.

After learning that Astro is alright in another dimension and assisting his newfound friends, Dr. O'Shay took a deep sigh. "It's a good thing that he's safe and sound. Yet, he's dealing with an ongoing incident that we all don't know about."

"He said something about Mavericks. In all my years of robotic research, I've never heard of that term before. Whatever it is, it sounds very serious" told Dr. Tenma.

"What do you think they're described as, Doctor? As it pains me to say this, but I have to agree" says Yuko to Dr. O'Shay.

"Eh?! Well, it just like from what Astro had said, the world that he's in is far more advanced and he's in another century." He narrowed his eyes. "It would be very dangerous, if either one of us pursues him in that timeline."

"Indeed." Dr. Tenma countered. "Going into the future or the past by alternating a scene would result in a time paradoxes."

Reno blinked his eyes in confusion. "Huh? Time paradoxes? What's that?" He asked Dr. O'Shay for a clarification.

"Hmm." He pondered to himself until he came up with an answer. "I've read about this in university. Being transported to a timeline of yesteryear would affect the world. There's a huge gamble that by doing something new in the past would alter the future. Thus resulting in the 'rewrite' theory."

Dr. Tenma nods his head. "Correct. If anyone such as us would create a new scene in the past, the future, even history itself would change dramatically."

When he told the shocking twist to everyone about history being altered, Dr. O'Shay gasped and recalled the incident before Astro was sent through the time portal. "Why, of course! It all makes sense! That was Drake's plan all along to remove Astro's existence by going back into the past and rewriting it! Damn that Drake!"

"Doctor, please calm yourself" said Yuko to him.

"I'm sorry, Yuko. But the thought of Drake trying to rid Astro and every robot for whatever reason, just sickens me! Even with the new robot law that was recently made, there are many others like him that still defy it."

There was nothing that Reno could say about it. He remembers the time, when he was raised from the Robot Circus in his hometown before Gustaf tried to frame them for slavery; just as Dr. O'Shay had recently signed the custody documents and the real mayor withdrawing all charges against the robots that raised him.

With a deep sigh and looking over at his newfound comrades, Dr. Tenma replied back. "As much as I dislike going back to our previous mistakes, we need to continue repairing the time machine. One false move on any adjustment would cause it to malfunction and resulting of Astro being stuck in that timeline...for good."

Yuko, Dr. O'Shay and Reno all gasped together with a look of shock on their faces.

Elsewhere in another dimension, X and Zero have managed to get inside the Final Weapon by using a spacecraft provided by the Colonel of Repliforce. Before going into the Final Weapon and rescuing Iris, both X and Zero have equipped themselves with new variable weapon system abilities by acquiring those from the Repliforce soldiers after receiving a quick transmission confirming the termination of the remaining Mavericks. As for X, he is now wearing his Ultimate Armor form by receiving it from the capsules that was left by the late Dr. Thomas Light. After blasting and cutting through enemies that stood in their way, both Maverick Hunters have made it to the top of the entrance.

They've reached near the end of it until X halted Zero by blocking him with his arm.

"Wait!"

"Huh? What for, X? Iris is on the other side! Are you going to let her get killed by Double?"

X countered back at his red Maverick Hunter partner. "I'm not! It's because that we've made it this far, we didn't wait for Astro to come with us. And by the looks of things, it's already been several minutes."

Not wanting to be patient any longer, Zero began to hesitate and then, he dashed off. "I'm tired of waiting! I'm sorry, X, but Iris is very important to me! I'm not going to wait any further for Astro to show up!" He headed to the entrance, where Double awaits with Iris as his captor.

"Zero, wait up!"

The red Maverick Hunter went right in and confront Double. Only to see that he has converted back to his original fat form. That was the least of his worries. He gasped to see that Iris is still unconscious since their arrival and could feel his program beginning to burn up with anger. "Why, you little..."

Zero was about to draw out his Z-Saber and combat with Double, when X showed up behind him.

"Hold it! What were you thinking? I was going to negotiate with Double as to why he is doing this." He moves out of Zero's way and confront his subordinate. "Why are you even here, Double?"

The yellow fat robot answered to X. "First off, why hasn't Astro shown up yet? I warned you that there will be some consequences for not responding to my challenge and for that, the gal must perish!"

Zero grips his signature sword and preparing to unsheathe it. "You do that, I'll beat the living hell out of you!"

Suddenly, the above entrance that X and Zero had entered earlier was opened and out came Astro.

Whereas Double, he folds his arms. "Heh. It's about damn time you showed up. I was about to vanquish Iris!"

That brought Astro to a full boil, when he saw Iris severely injured. "No one hurts my friends and gets away with it! I fight for both the humans and robots!"

"You fight for both?" Double laughed. "How rubbish. Much like the Repliforce, the Mavericks and everything else, they're also idiots. So, think it over while you're in heaven! Prepare to die!" He reveals his true gelatin form to X, Zero and Astro. With a small cackle of glee, he responds. "I'm so anxious to rip you all apart! But first things first." He noticed Iris starting to wake up and that's when he does the unthinkable: he slashes her right on her back and it made her scream in sheer agonizing pain.

Astro, X and Zero all gasped in horror to see that Double has physically assaulted Iris before the fight could even begin.

"Ha, Ha, Ha...You're all going get to hurt!" Double laughed menacingly and readies his energy sabres at them.

Seeing Iris not moving at all after suffering a deadly slash from Double's energy sabre, Zero's anger level went through the roof and screamed loudly over the possible loss of his beloved girlfriend. He unsheathes his Z-Saber and prepares to avenge Iris's downfall by charging at Double. "You're dead!" He was about to give him a piece of his mind until Astro stepped in and spread his arms out; blocking his path. "Out of my way, Astro! Did you see what he did to Iris?! He must pay!"

"I know that! You mustn't be fooled by him! This is exactly what he wants!" Astro checks on Iris from his viewpoint and realizing that her time is quickly drawing near, he makes an uttering request to Zero. "If you could get Iris away from here, she won't be harmed by him. Me and X will handle this."

Upon learning his statement, Zero sheathes his Z-Saber and dashed on over to Iris's side. He scoops her up and carries her bridal style. She is in very bad shape, when she received a harsh cut from Double's energy sabre. "Hang in there, Iris."

Despite her weakened condition, she tries to reply back. "Z-Zero."

"Conserve your energy." He turns to his comrades. "X, Astro, be very careful." Afterwards, he teleports from the Final Weapon with Iris in his arms.

Now that Iris is being sent back to Maverick Hunter headquarters by Zero for immediate repairs, Astro and X can focus on dealing with the perpetrator.

That is, when Astro asked X about his new appearance. "X, is that really you?" He became marvelled at his latest armour.

"Of course, it's me, Astro. This is my Ultimate Armour. I've managed to acquire these parts, before me and Zero came onboard here. Plus, I've gained new special weapon abilities from the enemies that I've defeated from. But since that you've convinced the Colonel and General of Repliforce to call off the coup, I was able to earn it without having to beat them."

"You mean that you have to..."

X cuts off Astro's sentence. "Apparently, I do. In order for me to achieve it, I would have to defeat the rogue robots and that's when I obtain some new weaponry."

At first glance, Astro felt speechless. But by understanding X's reason of adapting new skills, he acknowledged it. "I get it. You defeat those robots that have gone bad and you add their powers into your system. That's neat!"

"It sure does."

Double had his arms crossed and waited several minutes for them to fight him by tapping his foot repeatedly. "Ahem! Are you two idiots done yet? If you are, I'd be more than pleased to tear you both in half!"

While X and Astro prepare themselves against Double in his true form, back at Maverick Hunter headquarters, Zero brought Iris into the medical facilities and in the nick of time. She had enough strength left to survive her injuries and the Reploid medical team waste no time repairing the damages she sustained from Double's energy sabres.

As Zero looked on with deep concern, Colonel walked in to join him and also became worried of his sister's well-being.

"I hope that she will pull through. I still cannot believe that he would pull a stunt like that." He turns his head away slightly. "But..."

"But what, Zero?" asked Colonel.

By tightening his fist, he retorted. "I feel like that there's no reason for me to go on, because of what happened to Iris. I mean, what am I fighting for?"

Having known Zero ever since he first met him and his sister, Colonel placed his hand on his shoulder. "You're fighting for your future. Not to mention, the sake for all Reploids...and humans."

"Wait. Are you believing from what Astro had told you?" wondered Zero.

"Moreover, after he showed me the evidence relating to the Sky Lagoon and the main enemy that you seek, the Repliforce are now collaborating with the Maverick Hunters."

Zero's eyes were widened in surprise. "Y-You can't be serious?"

Back within the Final Weapon, X and Astro are struggling to defeat Double by not only avoid his deadly energy sabres, but also his disc-shaped energy beams and large-moon shaped energy beams. Still, X was able to weaken him with his Double Cyclone attack, while Astro does the same with his Digi-Beam from his fingertips.

Both of them were near exhaustion, but refuse to give up their fight against Double, despite receiving minor injuries.

"How are you holding up, X?" thought Astro, while catching his breath.

He checks his weapon ammo; it was almost empty since the Double Cyclone was super effective on Double. "I'm doing alright, but I'm running low." As he and Astro avoid another slash from Double's energy sabre, X hatches up with an idea. "Astro, while I divert his attention with my Double Cyclone, strike him down with your laser cannons from behind."

Astro nodded. "Sounds good to me."

Whereas Double, he scoffed about their plan. "You'd better think twice before you can beat me! Now, die!" He charges at X again with his energy sabres and the same with his disc-shaped energy beams and large-shaped moon-shaped energy beams.

After dodging another projectile from Double's energy sabres that hit the ground, X shoots his Double Cyclone in-front of him and it allowed Astro to fire his laser cannons from behind.

With the combined efforts of X and Astro, Double was ultimately defeated and was down on one knee. "Damn! How could I lose to bunch of weaklings like you...?"

X tries once more to reason with him and his role as a Maverick. "Double, tell me? Why did you do this?"

Feeling damaged beyond repair, Double explained his actions. "You're so naive, X! I was sent as a spy from the very beginning to keep an eye on you!"

"You've got a lot of nerve! Distrusting him like that!" told Astro to Double.

"Ha! That naiveness may be your fatal flaw! Good bye, X and Astro! See you both in the after life!"

"Double!" cried X, as he and Astro witness Double exploding before their very eyes and within seconds, the Maverick spy was a goner.

X sighed and turned away in shame; having realized that Double was a traitor all along. Astro put his hand on his shoulder. "You mustn't blame yourself for what's happened."

"I know." X lifts his head with a look of determination on his face. "Come on. Let's head back to Maverick Hunter headquarters and check up on Iris's condition. And, Astro..."

"Yes?"

X smiled and extended his hand out to him. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." After shaking X's hand in gratitude for assisting him of defeating Double, they return to Maverick Hunter headquarters.

Immediately back at their fabled stronghold, X, Astro, Colonel and Zero all centre around Iris lying on the stretcher and remains asleep since she has semi-recovered from her severe injures at the hands of Double.

Zero grasps her hand firmly. "Iris."

"What's her current condition, Colonel? Is she going to be okay?" asked X, regarding Iris.

The sub-commander of Repliforce looks over at his beloved sister for a brief moment and then at Zero until he answers X with his conclusion. "Even though that she has survived her injuries, her programming didn't. I'm afraid that she doesn't have much time left."

Realizing that Iris may not live, Zero gasped in sheer horror. "NO! This can't be happening!" By releasing his grip on Iris and tightening his fist, he growled. "Astro, this is all...your fault!" He points at him.

"What? Me?" cried Astro.

"That's right! If you hadn't let me take care of Double, she would've been saved! You're too damn sincere!" Zero was about to unleash his fury on Astro by blaming him for Iris's somewhat demise, both X and Colonel restrain him.

"Zero, calm down!"

"Restrain yourself! It's true that she has endured the pain from Double's massacre, but her battery level is only at minimum."

Astro's eyes had lit up and it gave him an idea. "That's it! I know how to save her!"

"Huh?" says X, Zero and Colonel altogether in confusion.

He opened up his chest to reveal his robotic red heart with a yellow charger in the centre and below it is a voice-recording device that was recently installed by Dr. O'Shay before his arrival. "If I can transfer my remaining energy source to Iris, she'll be fully functional."

Colonel gasped in astonishment after both he and X let go of Zero. "You'll what?"

"Astro, you can't! It's too dangerous!" X than warns him about the possibility of not surviving the skirmish. "If you do that, you won't have much power left. I'm warning you, don't do it!"

By looking back at Iris with time running out for her, he replied. "Like I have a choice?" He moves out of the way and assists Colonel to begin his energy transfer to his sister, while he stood next to Iris on the stretcher with his chest opened. "Colonel, please let me do this. If I'm fortunate enough to withstand this, I can still help X and Zero out."

Believing that he's more than willing to save his sister's life by sacrificing himself, he obliged. "It would be an honour, Astro." He opens Iris's chest to reveal her battery level at such a low level and dropping fast. He attaches a link cable to her battery with Astro's heart. He than questions Astro's motive. "Are you sure that you're capable of handling this procedure?"

"Possibly. I don't want to lose any of my friends. Whether it's here or in Metro City."

Pleased with Astro's sheer bravery, Colonel smiled and instructs X to flip the switch. "X, prepare the transfer process."

"Got it." He puts his hand on the lever and turns to Astro. "Ready, Astro?"

"I am. Do it."

With some sweat trickling down from his forehead and the possible risk of Astro's impossible survival, X pulls down the lever.

The transfer operation between Astro and Iris seemed to have started off smoothly, while Astro has his eyes closed. They all watch and see Astro's power source from his robotic heart being transferred over to Iris's programming, in order for her to live on.

Several minutes have past and Iris still hasn't moved an inch. That is, when Zero spots her fingers beginning to move. "Hey, she's moving!"

"No way!" cried X in disbelief.

Then sure enough, Iris slowly began to open her beautiful emerald green eyes and turns her head slightly at Zero and X. But much to her surprise, she sees Astro. "E-Everyone." Her smile had quickly faded, when she detects some redness and smoke coming from Astro's heart. "Astro is overheating!"

"He's what?" Zero right away sees the heat and smoke from Astro's heart and informs X to shut it down. "Quick, X! Turn it off!"

The blue Maverick Hunter immediately head over to the lever and pulls it back up. And around the same time, Colonel unplugs the cord from Iris's programming to Astro's heart. That being said and done, Astro was about to fall until Colonel caught him.

As Iris checks her programming and her body, she discovers that she has been saved by not only the Repliforce medical team, but also Astro giving his power source to save her. She jumps off from the stretcher and tries calling out to Astro. "Astro! Say something!" She later turns to her brother. "Brother, what did Astro just do?"

"He transferred his remaining energy source to save your life. But, it's possible that he didn't make it" told Colonel to her.

Tears were formed inside her eyes and by finding out that Astro risked his life to save her, she pleaded. "No! There has to be another way!" She tries once more to call out Astro. "Astro! Please wake up! Astro! Astro!"

But there was still no response from Astro and his opened chest shows his heart to be nearly overheated.

 _ **To Be Continued...**_

 _End of Episode 3_


	4. The Legendary Duo

Disclaimer: I don't own Astro Boy or Mega Man X. Only their respective companies do. Read & Review, please!

Chapter 4: The Legendary Duo

Everyone at Maverick Hunter headquarters couldn't believe their very eyes. Astro had risked his own life in order to save Iris's by transferring his own energy source from his electro heart and into her programming.

Iris tries one more time waking him up by shaking his body and then, calling out to him. "Astro, please respond! Astro!" With hot tears in her fabled green eyes, she yells out his name again but only louder. "Astro!"

Her yelling had surprisingly woke him up, when he starts moaning.

They all huddle over and much to their bewilderment, Astro slowly opened his eyes in his weakened condition after his energy transfer and slightly moves his head towards Iris with a faint smile. "I-Iris..."

Relieved to see him still alive, Iris could feel her heart sing with delight. "Oh, Astro." She leans over and hugs him with her warmth. "How can I ever thank you." Much like from earlier, she shed tears again but they were filled with joy.

Both Colonel and X became thrilled that Astro has survived the ordeal. Except for Zero, by turning away with his arms folded; still feeling jealous that Iris is liking more of Astro than him.

X quickly noticed Zero's body language and realizes that he's not too happy about Iris developing an attraction with Astro. "Zero, don't tell me that you're still jealous about Astro. If you are, than perhaps..."

Zero right away cuts him off and turned back to him with rage in his eyes. "What kind of idiot do you think I am?! Vile?!" He raises his fist at X and pressed forward. "No! Things would've been better off, if Astro wasn't created in the first place!"

Iris gasped in shock to hear Zero's harsh statement about Astro's existence.

"Hey! That's way too far, Zero! He helped clear the name of Repliforce and saved everyone from the Sky Lagoon! You should at least give him some credit, not dishonour him!" Not wanting to hear anymore from X, Zero turns to leave until X gives him a chilling and disturbing thought. "You keep putting this much pressure on yourself and you are no better than Sigma!"

Zero stopped and his eyes were widened upon hearing the difference between himself and the main enemy that was trying to pull the strings behind Repliforce. He made a deep sigh. "Alright, fine. But, look at him." He shows X to see Astro barely able to stand, while Iris and Colonel place him back on the operation table. "He doesn't have much power left and may not assist us to beat Sigma."

That's when X had just thought of something. "I know how he can be re-charged in the nick of time." He heads to the main weaponry and brings back with two full sub-energy tanks in his hands. "This should revitalize him and his programming. He assisted Iris by sending his energy source to her and now it's our turn."

"Are you sure that it will work? It may have the same result from before" warned Zero to X, while walking back to the medical room.

"We'll never know until we try." X later smiled. "In fact, I've become quite fond of him."

"Huh? You do? But he's a robot and we're Reploids. Shouldn't that make him obsolete?" told Zero relating to Astro.

"Not exactly. If he was created in our timeline, the situation would've been different."

Immediately back inside the medical room, X places the two full sub-energy tanks next to Astro and connects them to his electro heart with two cable wires.

With some backup assistance from Zero, Iris and Colonel, they re-activate the main control panel. The two sub-energy tanks that X had filled up previously prior to his last visit to the Final Weapon, begins sending it straight into Astro's hardware.

A flicker of lights had filled up Astro's Kokoro heart, during the re-charge; indicating that he is nearly about to regain his full robotic strength.

After several minutes, X's two sub-energy tanks became completely empty and Zero turns off the main control panel.

Everyone huddled over Astro and hopefully pray that his power has indeed been re-energized.

"Do you think that he'll be alright?" thought Iris to Zero.

The red maverick hunter did some heavy thinking and sure enough, he came up with answer. "I'm not sure. Yet, I don't know what surprises me. The fact that Astro had managed to obtain some hard evidence regarding Sigma trying to deceive the General or saving everybody's lives on the Sky Lagoon; both human and Reploid. Still, he doesn't even have a class rank like myself."

X didn't take Zero's criticism on Astro too lightly. "C'mon, Zero! Don't be so brash! It's true that he's from a different dimension, but he's become a valuable partner nonetheless."

Just than, they could hear Astro murmur and slowly stood up. He turns around to his newfound comrades with a smile on his robotic faces. "Hey, you guys."

"Astro!" cheered Zero and X altogether.

"You're alright!" cried Iris.

Even the Colonel became satisfied of seeing Astro having his health restored.

But Astro's cheerful expression quickly turned serious by recalling his last visit to the Final Weapon and the person nearly responsible for the Sky Lagoon incident by trying to ruin the reputation of Repliforce. "Now's not the time to commemorate my recovery. We need to go back there and stop him!"

Zero and X nodded their heads in agreement.

"Affirmative."

"Let's hope that it's not yet operational."

That brought some curiosity towards Astro and asked X. "Wait. Are you saying that space station we recently came back from is actually a weapon?"

"No doubt about it. You may have been successful of stopping Sigma to frame the Repliforce, but not his other plan to wipe out all life on Earth. That's his goal: to extinguish humanity - both human and robot."

X's revelation of Sigma's plan within the Sky Lagoon incident connecting with the Repliforce has brought Astro to a complete and utter shock. "What? That's crazy!"

"We'll explain later on. Right now, let's head back to the Final Weapon."

Whereas Zero, he has a different option. "That's fine. But, I'll be staying here with Iris."

Iris became awkwardly surprised of Zero staying here and watching her back. "Z-Zero."

"Why and what for?" thought Astro.

Zero explained to him and Astro. "She needs someone to stick close by and I don't want anyone to harm her unless they deal with me."

Although they were both shocked of him staying at Maverick Headquarters by protecting Iris, X and Astro head back to their previous destination and thwart Sigma's plan before it's too late. Once the duo had left, Iris makes a prayer for their safe trip back home.

 _"Be very careful out there. We're all counting on you, X and Astro."_

Immediately back inside the Final Weapon, Astro and X have made their way to the Final Weapon. By avoiding the spikes, they've reached to the end and by going all the way down, they've noticed something very peculiar about the room they've entered. There is only one portal entrance at the centre.

"How bizarre. Usually, myself and Zero would've defeated the same Mavericks that we've faced from before. But in this case, we don't have to" notified X to Astro.

Not knowing of what he was referring to, Astro popped up a question to him by shaking his head in surprise. "Hold on. Can you please explain to me by what you've just said?"

"It goes like this; in order to face Sigma, we'd have to beat the same enemies that we've encountered. But because of your involvement and the Repliforce, along with saving countless lives from the Sky Lagoon and exposing Sigma's plan, it's not necessary anymore. Therefore, we'll have plenty of strength to beat him."

Despite being startled, Astro agreed. However, there is one problem that he had just remembered. "That's great. But even if we defeat him, that means I'll have to go back to my own world." He hung his head down in shame.

As X gazed at his downward expression for a brief moment, he puts his hand on Astro's shoulder.

"Let's not worry about that. We've got a job to do." He than narrows his eyes at him. "But be very warned. Sigma is unlike anyone that you've dealt with in your world. He's a Maverick and will stop at nothing to achieve his goals."

"What exactly is a Maverick?" asked Astro, while blinking his eyes in confusion.

X clarified to Astro. "A Maverick is where a Reploid or in your case, a robot going rogue and destroys everything in its path. Whether it's a human or a robot, it doesn't matter. All because of a virus that turns an ordinary individual into a violent killing machine. Once infected, they cannot be restored to their previous form."

Astro's robotic eyes were filled with shock and despair. He couldn't believe of what X had told him about the origin of becoming a Maverick. His robotic body began to shiver with every passing moment, regarding the possibility of him being the next victim. "I...I can't believe this. That's much worse than humans hating robots."

"You mean like an Anti-Robot brigade?" thought X.

Astro makes a slight nod.

The blue Maverick Hunter folds his arms. "I see. So, your world is vastly different than ours." Knowing that they're wasting time and effort, he quickly notifies him. "Come on. We don't have time to sulk around. Let's stop Sigma before he triggers the Final Weapon."

"You got it, X!" says Astro cheerfully. "I'll watch your back."

X returns the favour by giving him the thumbs up and a smile.

And so, they both stepped into the centre portal and are transported inside the main control room of the Final Weapon. As they make their way towards the corridors, a mysterious figure dressed in a black cloak with a scythe in its hands appeared and blocking Astro and X's path with its dark amber eyes glowing.

"This is very amusing. It really is X and Astro."

The blue Maverick Hunter instantly recognized its sinister voice. "Sigma! Your plan of occupying the Repliforce and the Maverick Hunters of destroying each other has been backfired! They all know what you were up to!"

Astro's robotic eyes were widened in surprise and pointed his finger at the cloaked figure. "Hold on. That's Sigma?"

Sigma laughed with glee. "Hee, Hee, Hee. Indeed I am, Astro. Double did a good job as a spy. But regardless that you've found out about my scheme, it's far too late. Now all that's left is to destroy Earth with the very weapon they made."

"What?!" cried Astro as his electro-heart quickly discerns him about Sigma's true behaviour. "You're insane!"

X grunted with displeasure. "No! We'll never let you do that!"

"Try hard, X and Astro. Your lives depend on it!" mocked Sigma to them as he teleported and allowing the duo to pass into the corridors.

Once they've made their way inside the final room, Sigma re-appears in his grim reaper form and confronting X and Astro.

"Tremble with terror! You are finished!"

The battle for the safety of Earth has now begun. Sigma begins disappearing and re-appearing from across the room as X equips himself with Rising Fire. As he appears in the centre, X shoots his fireball upward and flames starts burning up his cloak with Sigma feeling the burn. He re-appeared again in the same spot and X utilizes the same pattern from before.

When Sigma teleported for the third time, he flies across the room and proceeds to attack both X and Astro with his deadly scythe.

X manages to jump over him, but Astro surprises Sigma by catching his primary weapon with his bare hands and as he somersaulted, he uses his rocket jets from his feet as his own heat weapon and causes more damage to Sigma's reaper form by burning it onto his face.

Astro quickly informs X. "Now, X!"

With a slight nod, he fires his Rising Fire projectile and with their combined efforts, they were able to weaken him enough to bring him down to ground level. But not before taunting them by saying, "Are you ready for round two?"

Now that his reaper form has been dealt with, he unveils his second form and it was much similar to his previous battle with X and Zero. Much like from before, he will still use his scythe as his current weapon. "Hee, Hee, Hee. You are very good, X and especially you, Astro! But not for long. You won't be able to evade this attack!"

Astro is getting the impression that Sigma is unlike anything he has ever encountered. "He just doesn't know when to quit. Does he?"

As soon as he throws his scythe by spinning it around the room, X warns him. "Astro, evade!"

He was able to avoid the deadly scythe from Sigma and as he was about to throw the second time, X quickly equips himself with Lightning Web and attacks him.

The evil Maverick received significant damage until his scythe hits the wall and generates electric bolts up and down. From there, Sigma moves back against the far right of the room and fires two eye lasers that covers the rest of the floor.

X was able to reach the wall and glide carefully up and down, while Astro fires his Digi-Beam from his finger and avoiding Sigma's eye lasers to damage him.

By grabbing his scythe and landing on his feet, both X and Astro attack again simultaneously and Sigma is on the brink of near defeat. He utilizes the same technique by throwing his scythe, but X and Astro were able to dodge it and inflict more damage to him.

They repeat the same process until Sigma's health went to zero and starts exploding as X and Astro move out of the way to the left.

By taking a deep sigh, Astro believes that his fight against Sigma is done. "I think, it's over."

Whereas X, he doesn't believe so. "I wouldn't be too sure, if I were you."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Just than, the ground below them starts blowing up and they both fall into the basement of the Final Weapon as it begins shaking with such vigour.

The instant they went straight down, Sigma re-appeared in his third and final form as a large robot manning a gun. "Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha! Feel my incredible power! Drown in the empty vastness of space!"

"You can't be serious!" Astro informs X about his current energy level. "I may not have enough power to stop him."

As X saw an energy item that can restore his weapons slightly, he right away grabs and inserts it into Astro's electro-heart program. "Here. Take it. That might be enough to defeat him. If all else fails, I'll cover you."

"Thanks, X. You're a big help," said Astro, thanking his newfound recruit for replenishing much of his energy.

Sigma wasn't at all pleased with his so-called recovery. "Prepare to become space-dust!"

He later disappeared and three smaller heads; red, yellow and blue appeared. The yellow and blue heads were sitting idle against the right side, while the red head was on the left side and throws four sequences of fireballs at them. They were able to avoid the heat and as they vanish, a large robot head appeared on the lower left side and starts blowing air against X and Astro. It was trying to blow them into the spike wall on the right and fortunately for Astro, he was able to pick up enough speed and fire his Digi-Beams from his fingers to damage it before X came in with his fully-charged Ground Hunter and add sufficient damage as well.

After it vanished, the yellow head re-appeared above them and fires energy bolts all around the room and hits the floor and wall, emitting it with electricity. Astro was able to dodge and so did X with little ease.

Then, Sigma's large robot revealed itself and says, "The End!" by firing its huge beam at them.

"Quick, Astro! Mount onto one of the heads and then, counterattack on Sigma!" informed X to Astro.

"Got it!"

By grabbing the ledge of the yellow head, they were lucky to avoid certain death from Sigma's beam and were able enough to fire their attacks on him with X using Soul Body and Astro using his finger lasers before it disappeared once more.

Just like from before, the three heads appeared again. Only this time, the yellow and red heads remained idle, while the blue head fires its large ice-freeze blast as they get out of harm's way and grab onto the yellow and red heads until they left.

Sigma's robot form re-appears, along with the three heads. The red head was below Sigma and the yellow head was above the blue head. Somehow, this is X and Astro's opportunity to put Sigma away for good before he can re-fire his deadly beam.

"Okay, Astro. He's going to fire his gun from last time, only at different directions. On my cue, dodge and counterattack!" commanded X.

"Good idea!" Astro gives him the thumbs-up and fires his laser cannon straight at Sigma.

X, meanwhile, was also able to steer clear from Sigma's beam by using the small coloured heads for support and fires his X-Buster at him. They kept on firing at his robot form for several minutes until he vanished.

Similar to when the battle had began, the three coloured heads unveiled themselves and the blue head starts re-firing its freeze blast attack.

A minute later, the large robot head appeared once again and starts sucking in large rocks to try and damage X and Astro. They did, however, receive minor injuries and stood behind the blue head and fire their combined strength on the large head and it was quickly destroyed.

With one obstacle gone, they're now dealing with Sigma's last robot form.

He than uses his gun to fire the same direction, where X and Astro are standing. Only for them to move and fire their attacks to further damage him until he rendered defeat.

Suddenly, the whole room begins to rumble like crazy with the alarm going on and off repeatedly.

Sigma then starts laughing at them. "Hee, Hee, Hee."

X narrowed his eyes. "What's so funny?"

"This weapon is aimed straight at Earth already...No one can stop it now!"

Astro gasped in shock. "Oh, no!"

"Damn!" says X, realizing that their battle against Sigma was all a decoy to have the Final Weapon become fully-charged and fire its main thruster on the main planet.

"Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha! Good bye, X and Astro!" After his last rites were made, he later exploded into nothingness and enabling the corridors to be opened for Astro and X to pass through the main reactor of the Final Weapon with little time to spare.

Immediately at the last step, X and Astro must think fast before the Earth is obliterated by the Final Weapon.

"Curse you, Sigma! If only there was a way to stop it from firing," thought X, pumping his fist.

Upon opening his chest cavity, Astro notices that he has some power left within his programming and devises an idea. "There is. I'm going to use all of my remaining power in my laser cannons to prevent this from happening."

"No, Astro! It's too much of a risk! I can't allow you to..." X's sentence gets cuts off by Astro interjecting him.

"I don't have much of a choice! I'm depending on everyone's lives on this!" Astro rockets into the air, charges his arm cannons with all of his might and fires it straight into the core of the Final Weapon.

This resulted of not only the entire facility beginning to explode rapidly, but also shake more violently.

Knowing that Astro has succeeded of stopping the Final Weapon from firing into the Earth, he commends his actions. "Good job, Astro!" His delight quickly turns to horror and sees Astro falling down until he catches him by the hand and lifts him back onto the ledge. He then carries Astro in his arms and exits from the Final Weapon in the nick of time until it exploded.

Luckily for X, he found an emergency ship to escape from its destruction with Astro on-board. Along the way, he recalls his encounters with the Colonel, the shocking transformation and alliance of Double as a mole, and facing Sigma in combat. During his trip down memory lane, he receives an intermission and it shows Zero on-screen.

Zero: "This is Maverick Hunter headquarters."

X: "Zero!"

Zero: "It's good to see you and Astro are safe. We were really worried about you both."

X: "Sorry about that."

Zero: "Don't worry. It's all over. Go home and rest. Both you and Astro have earned it."

X: "Zero, what...what if I become one of the Mavericks?"

Zero: "Don't ask such silly questions. I'm breaking contact now."

X: "Wait, Zero! I'm...I'm serious!"

Zero: "Hmm?"

X: "Zero, if...if I become a Maverick, you have to take care of me."

Zero: "Don't be ridiculous. Now, hurry on back."

X: "Promise me, Zero."

He returns to Maverick Hunter headquarters with Astro on-board.

Now back inside the medical room, the Repliforce medical team are doing whatever they can to restore Astro's energy after foiling Sigma's scheme to launch the Final Weapon at Earth by utilizing all of his robotic strength to destroy the space station above the planet itself.

Outside, X, Zero, Colonel and Iris are waiting patiently to see if Astro has made a full recovery.

Zero stood against the wall with his arms crossed. X sat on his chair and Iris is being comforted by her brother, Colonel.

Several minutes later, the lights from the 'Operation' logo was turned off and as they all stood up, one of the mechanics stepped forward to confirm the results. He gave them a thumbs-up with a smile; thus indicating that Astro has indeed withstood the procedure.

"Alright!" says Zero and X altogether, while giving themselves a high-five.

Whereas Iris, she weeped in joy to see Astro alive and well. "Thank you so much for bringing Astro back."

"Our task on Astro was difficult at first, but we've managed to revitalize him at full capacity." He continued on. "Furthermore, it was his brave perseverance that helped him to survive the restoration process."

A few hours later, Astro thanked the Maverick Hunters, Colonel and Iris for restoring him.

"Thanks so much for getting me back online. For a moment or so, I wouldn't have made it."

"Don't mention it. All that matters is you're back up and running," told X.

Zero was quiet for a brief second regarding his jealousy towards him with Iris, but he right away broke his silence with a small smile. "Yeah. You're not half-bad." He extends his hand out to him. "No hard feelings, though?"

Astro stared at Zero momentarily and then, he shook his hand. "None taken."

As Colonel watches them sharing their peaceful moment together, he stood proudly with a smile on his face; knowing that not only is the Earth saved by both the Maverick Hunters and Astro, but also having the name of Repliforce cleared. Then, he receives a message from one of the soldiers from Repliforce; he quietly informs him about the General and what has transpired. "Really? I will notify them immediately."

While X, Zero, Iris and Astro are laughing together during their conversation, the Colonel stepped forward and responds to them about the message he received from the General. "Ahem. Pardon me for interrupting but, the General and Repliforce would like to see all of you at Memorial Hall right now. Iris, come with me."

"Yes, of course." Iris joins up with her brother; leaving X, Zero and Astro by themselves.

Both X and Zero smiled in unison.

"You know what this means, right?"

Zero nodded. "Yes. The Repliforce are honouring us, including Astro."

Astro gasped with greatness on his robotic face. "You mean..."

"That's right." Before they make their entrance, X replies to him. "But know this, Astro. Saving the world isn't about being a hero, it's about completing the mission."

"Oh, I see." He hung his head down slightly.

The red Maverick Hunter puts his hand on Astro's shoulder. "Hey, even though your duty from your world is much different than ours, we're both on the same side."

Upon receiving his response, Astro lifts his head up and made a warm smile.

Inside the Memorial Hall, numerous Repliforce soldiers in red, blue and green have attended for this special occasion. On the podium, there stood General in the centre and beside him are Colonel and Iris; awaiting the arrival of X, Zero and Astro.

Soon after, the main doors were opened as the Maverick Hunters and Astro walk straight down the hall with their heads held high. During their descend, the entire Repliforce army applauded the trio after clearing the name of Repliforce and thwarting Sigma's latest scheme of wiping out the Earth with the Final Weapon.

Along the way, Astro is starting to feel nervous of seeing numerous Reploid soldiers representing Repliforce and praising them. Zero elbowed him slightly.

"Hey, you don't have to be so embarrassed. It will only make you more vulnerable," says the red Maverick Hunter.

"My apologies, Zero. It's just that...I can't recall of obtaining an achievement quite like this. Regardless that I've only been here for a short while."

Zero smiled. "To think that you've made it this far, to not only save the world and Iris, but also the reputation and pride of Repliforce. Along with the lives from the Sky Lagoon."

"Yes, you're right. I can't believe that I've accomplished it. If I hadn't met you and the rest, I wouldn't be standing here in-front of all of these...Reploids."

As they make their way up to the podium, the Colonel stepped forward with his sword in-hand and Iris catching up.

There was a brief silence after several minutes of applause. It was later broken, when the Colonel stepped forward and makes a request to Astro.

Zero and X stood by from the far right and watched.

"Astro, please kneel" told Colonel.

He bends down on one knee and lowers his head. Before long, he recalls from what Zero had told him earlier.

 **(Flash Back)**

 _Zero: "Astro, when you see Colonel lower his sword on both of your shoulders, that means you're being honoured."_

 _Astro: "Really? That's great! But what about you and X?"_

 _X: "Don't mind about us. We've only completed the mission, thanks to you. It was all due to your efforts of saving countless lives and clearing the Repliforce name."_

 _Astro: "Thanks."_

 **(End Flash Back)**

By lowering his sword on Astro's left shoulder lightly and again on the right, Colonel gives out his speech. "In deep gratitude of saving the Earth, along with everyone from the Sky Lagoon and restoring the name of Repliforce, I herby dub Astro...our royal Repliforce soldier."

By lifting himself up, Astro smiled and Colonel returns the favour by giving him a respectful salute. The General from on-top of his seat also saluted and with that, so did the rest of the Repliforce squadrons. When he observed of how much respect and admiration he has earned by accomplishing the inevitable, Astro turns back to Colonel and saluted as well.

This resulted of the entire Repliforce group applauding in an outstanding ovation.

A slight hint of redness had filled up Astro's robotic cheeks and as he turns over to the Maverick Hunters, both X and Zero give him a thumbs-up. But when turns back to Colonel, he wasn't prepared to see Iris running up to him and throwing her arms around his neck.

"Oh, Astro!" she said with a small giggle and hugged him warmly.

"Okay, okay. If you could let me explain." As she restrains herself, Astro held her hands a little firmly and informs her about his time here. "I really appreciate this and all but I..." he lets go of her hands and concludes his sentence in frustration. "I...I don't belong here!"

Iris gasped in bewilderment. "Wh-What are you saying?" With tears filling up her beautiful eyes, she asked him again. "Please don't tell me that you're..."

"I'm really sorry, Iris. But, I must go back to my own world." He turns to Colonel regarding their previous meeting about him being transported back to his current timeline.

By staring at his expression, Colonel glanced at the General for a brief second and nodded his head in agreement. Colonel turns back to Astro and acknowledged his request. "Alright, then. Let's do this."

 **To Be Continued...**

 _End of Episode 4_


End file.
